Chapter 17

Liu Meifen’s feelings were of no concern to Wen Tang.

After Zhou Jingyu left, Wen Tang turned and walked away, clearly not wanting to discuss anything. Liu Meifen, enraged, stomped her feet and had to get the situation from Ke Xin and Yang Yang.

Liu Meifen didn’t stay long at the apartment. After she left, Ke Xin and Yang Yang were also dismissed. After several days of poor sleep, Wen Tang took a shower and collapsed into bed.

She slept straight until evening, and when she woke up, it was already dark outside.

Having caught an early flight and not eating much, she had missed both lunch and dinner, so she felt extremely hungry when she woke up.

As she exited her room, she saw her cats, Prince and Princess, on the balcony rack. Seeing Wen Tang, Prince leaped from the rack and jumped directly into Wen Tang’s arms. Princess, as usual, gave her a cold glance before lying back down to sleep, looking as if she could sleep forever.

Wen Tang’s busy schedule and frequent travels meant that being away from home for ten days or half a month was normal. The two cats were always cared for by a nanny, whom Wen Tang had employed since she found them. Whenever Wen Tang was home, the nanny didn’t come, but when she was away, the cats were in her care.

Wen Tang hugged Prince, who squinted in contentment as she petted him.

Feeling hungry, Wen Tang went straight to the fridge to find something to eat, only to discover that after a week away, the fridge was empty except for mineral water.

She immediately called Ke Xin to have some food delivered, knowing it would take at least an hour including travel time and packing.

An hour seemed like an eternity, and Wen Tang couldn’t wait even two minutes on the sofa.

She had to find something to do.

Wen Tang clutched her painfully empty stomach and suddenly remembered what her neighbor had said earlier about throwing the clothes away if she didn’t want them taking up space.

Of course, she found them annoying.

Getting up, Wen Tang went to the cloakroom, which was filled with her clothes, and there was only one men’s suit. After Ke Xin had taken it from the dry cleaner, it had been hanging there ever since. It felt so out of place whenever she changed clothes.

Wen Tang took the suit out. She was wearing a pink fluffy home outfit and didn’t want to change, so she just threw a long, oversized down jacket over it and went out.

With the down jacket’s hood covering most of her face, she hoped nobody would recognize her at night.

The design of the apartment was such that there were two units on the first floor, door to door, and Wen Tang always saw her neighbor’s door directly when she opened her own.

Holding the suit on her wrist, Wen Tang closed her door and headed towards the elevator.

The apartment Wen Tang bought was high-floor, spacious with few residents, close to the city center and riverside, and thus very expensive.

Given the high price, the facilities and security had to be up to standard.

There was a dedicated service staff in the building lobby, and two security guards were always stationed at the entrance. They were required to know each resident personally. Non-residents and unregistered visitors were not allowed to enter. Beyond the entrance was a landscaped green area. Just a few steps to the left was an old clothes bin specifically for recycling unwanted clothing.

Wen Tang walked straight to the old clothes bin.

She thought that if she threw the suit away, she wouldn’t have to see it every day, as it made her feel as if her personal space was invaded.

Besides, did he think she wouldn’t dare to throw away his clothes?

Standing by the old clothes bin, Wen Tang raised the suit high, trying several times to toss it in, but couldn’t bring herself to let go.

Before she turned eight, Wen Tang lived with her grandmother, who, although never made her suffer materially, was always frugal.

Even though Wen Tang had earned a lot in the entertainment industry and spent money freely, she wasn’t the type to throw away hundreds of thousands without a second thought.

The neighbor’s participation in the previous banquet indicated his wealth; at the very least, his assets were in the hundreds of millions. A suit worth hundreds of thousands was quite normal, but to actually throw it away as he suggested…

It seemed rather wasteful?

At the moment, Wen Tang hesitated, unable to make up her mind.

After a minute of internal struggle, Wen Tang finally lowered her hand.

She decided to knock on the door. If he was home, she’d return the suit; if not… she’d leave it at his doorstep!

The person was naturally not home.

Wen Tang rang the doorbell several times without anyone answering. If she had thought of it earlier, she would have just hung the suit on the door handle and left, turning back to her own home.

After all the back and forth, it had been over half an hour. By the time Wen Tang got back home, Ke Xin had arrived.

Wen Tang, trying to endure her hunger, lay on the sofa waiting for Kexin, eagerly anticipating her arrival! When there was finally movement at the door, Wen Tang sprang up from the sofa. In fact, since she weighed two pounds more last time she checked, she hadn’t had dinner for over half a month. During the day, she only ate vegetables and eggs, avoiding anything that might make her gain weight, so she had never felt full!

Now that she finally had some time to relax, Wen Tang was craving food, and Ke Xin had brought her a hot pot.

However, the most conspicuous thing in Ke Xin’s hand was not the hot pot, but a very familiar, expensive suit.

Wen Tang: “?”

Ke Xin, upon entering, remarked with curiosity, “Tang Tang, I found your handsome neighbor’s suit lying on his doorstep.”

Wen Tang: “……”

Of course, it was her who had put it there! …Wait, she didn’t throw it away. She had clearly hung it on the door handle, but it might not have been secured properly, so it fell to the ground.

Ke Xin, oblivious to Wen Tang’s exasperation, held the neighbor in high regard due to his handsome face.

“When he comes back, Tang Tang, you should return it to him.”

With such high regard for him, Ke Xin even dared to instruct Wen Tang to do something.

Wen Tang, who had already returned the clothes once, was like: “……”

Alright.

Ke Xin, you’ve got some nerve.

It was fine though.

Considering the hot pot, Wen Tang decided not to say anything. She was hungry, focused solely on eating, and had no time for other concerns.

She casually set the suit aside and began enjoying the hot pot.

After Wen Tang finished eating and Kexin tidied up the table and packed up the remaining food, Kexin said, “Tang Tang, I’ll come back tomorrow at noon to bring you lunch.”

Since Wen Tang had an afternoon shoot the next day and wanted to sleep in, she told Kexin not to come in the morning.

Wen Tang, satisfied and full, nodded in agreement.

Ke Xin then left.

As she carried out the bag of leftover food and garbage, she suddenly remembered the suit and, sticking her head back through the door, reminded Wen Tang, “Tang Tang, about that suit…”

She pointed to the sofa and then to the neighbor’s door, “When he comes back later… just return it, don’t actually throw it away. It looks really expensive!”

Wen Tang: “……”

For a moment, Wen Tang couldn’t tell if she was the boss or if Ke Xin was.

But since Ke Xin had just filled her belly with hot pot, Wen Tang sighed, “Got it, got it! Just go!”

Why the unnecessary worry?!

After Ke Xin left, Wen Tang, while heading back to her room, glanced at the suit on the sofa, but didn’t look back and walked away.

After eating, she continued to catch up on sleep.

This time, she slept until midnight.

By the time she woke up, she had slept through the whole day. She couldn’t fall back asleep after opening her eyes.

After counting a hundred sheep, Wen Tang got out of bed, giving up.

Feeling a bit thirsty from the hot pot, Wen Tang went to the living room to get a bottle of water.

As she passed the living room, she noticed the suit she had forgotten on the sofa.

?

At this hour, he should be home, right?

Wen Tang didn’t consider whether her neighbor might be asleep at twelve thirty at night.

He always acted so aloof, and Wen Tang had been displeased with him for a long time.

Why should she always think of him?

Moreover, the fact that she hadn’t thrown his clothes into the donation bin and let someone else pick them up was already a huge favor to him!

Once the idea of returning the clothes crossed her mind, Wen Tang put aside the water and immediately took action. She grabbed the suit and headed to the door.

She thought she would have to ring the doorbell for a long time before he came to open it.

But to her surprise, he was very alert. After just a few rings of the doorbell, within less than half a minute, the door “click” opened from the inside.

The man at the door was casually dressed in a dark blue silk robe, his hair disheveled, and his eyes somewhat dazed as if he was half-awake, with none of his usual aloofness, making him seem unusually gentle.

“Miss Wen, do you need me to remind you what time it is?”

Zhou Jingyu looked at the woman who was knocking on his door in the middle of the night, with a frown.

This delicate and beautiful star was dressed in a pink, fluffy home outfit, with a hood adorned with long ears.

Without makeup and in such attire, she looked several years younger, almost like a teenager.

Since Wen Tang dared to knock, she wasn’t concerned about his attitude or whether he was upset. She held out the suit and said, “Here, your clothes.”

Zhou Jingyu didn’t take it immediately. He was tall, towering over Wen Tang, making her appear even smaller.

“So, you’re knocking on my door in the middle of the night just to return my clothes?” he asked.

Wen Tang tilted her head, seemingly puzzled, and replied, “What else did you expect?”

Her large, round eyes, combined with her current outfit, gave her an innocent look.

Zhou Jingyu studied her for a moment, trying to understand what kind of mindset would lead her to knock on a single man’s door at night.

She remained calm and let him look. Finally, becoming impatient, she urged him, “Hurry up, my arm is getting sore.”

Zhou Jingyu reached out and took the suit.

With the clothes returned, Wen Tang turned to leave.

“Oh, I forgot to say,” she suddenly turned back before stepping out, “Thank you.”

She glanced at the suit in his hands and smiled slightly, “For that night.”

The innocent look she had earlier was completely dispelled by this smile. Her true character, stubborn and meticulous, showed through. With her large, round cat-like eyes and a small mole at the corner, she looked irresistibly charming.

Wen Tang went to return the suit and left the door open. As she reached her own door and pushed it open, Prince suddenly leaped out and into Wen Tang’s arms, meowing twice.

Zhou Jingyu was about to close the door but, having once kept a cat himself, felt a sense of familiarity upon hearing the meow. He glanced over to see that Wen Tang had a cat as well.

With her back to him, Wen Tang’s cat jumped directly into her arms. Zhou Jingyu couldn’t see the cat’s appearance clearly, but as Wen Tang turned around to close her door, he got a good look.

He squinted slightly.

The cat looked somewhat familiar.

As Wen Tang was about to close the door, Zhou Jingyu called out to her.

“Miss Wen,” Zhou Jingyu looked at the cat in her arms and asked, “Is this your cat?”

As an enthusiastic cat owner, Wen Tang couldn’t resist showing off her cat when asked.

Even though her neighbor’s aloof attitude had annoyed her many times, she couldn’t help but share when he asked about her cat.

“Yes, it’s my cat!” Wen Tang adjusted the cat’s position, showing it off from all angles to Zhou Jingyu.

“Isn’t it handsome?” Wen Tang’s genuine smile radiated, “Its name is Prince.”

“Oh, I have another cat, a white one named Princess.”

Zhou Jingyu nodded slightly, his expression unexpectedly gentle and tinged with nostalgia. “I used to have a cat too, a Ragdoll.”

Wen Tang’s eyes lit up. She recalled the beautiful Ragdoll cat in Gong Yue’s social media posts. “Really? It must have been very beautiful!”

Zhou Jingyu smiled faintly. “It was indeed very beautiful.”

Unexpectedly, knocking on the neighbor’s door in the middle of the night led to a pleasant exchange, making the atmosphere much warmer.

After showing off her cat, Wen Tang was satisfied and ready to go back. Before closing the door, she suddenly heard Zhou Jingyu say, “Miss Wen, I’m not called ‘Hey,’ my surname is Zhou.”

Wen Tang was taken aback.

She looked up to see Zhou Jingyu looking at her with a serious expression, his gaze unusually gentle.

She realized she had called him “Hey” earlier because she didn’t know his name.

So, was he bothered by that?

Had she finally managed to redeem herself after all the times she had been put in awkward situations before him?

With this thought, Wen Tang’s mood lifted even more.

She smiled and winked, “Alright, Mr. Zhou.”